The vote center at Syracuse Community Center had a steady stream of voters throughout the day, filling the gymnasium with weaving lines of voters. The line continued until 7 p.m. when the last voter cast their ballot. Photo by Deb Patterson.

By Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — Republican candidates swept the 2024 Presidential election. Donald Trump has been declared as winning the presidential race. Republicans won the majority seats in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House races. In Indiana, the Republicans won the governor, attorney general and state senate and representative races.

Randy Head, Indiana Republican chairman, congratulated Republican candidates in federal and state elections on their wins Tuesday evening.

Regarding the presidential race, Head stated “For the third time, Indiana is among the first states on the board for President Trump. Congratulations to the Trump-Vance ticket. We will continue to watch the results come in tonight as we look forward to President Trump returning to the White House!”

With Jim Banks’  decisive victory as Indiana Senator, Head stated “Senator-elect Jim Banks has represented the 3rd congressional district for the last eight years as a true fighter for Indiana. As Indiana’s next Senator we can count on Jim Banks to continue fighting for us and make sure our voice is represented in congress.

“We look forward to watching Senator-elect Banks help lead our country into a future with secure borders, low inflation, and safer communities.”

Rudy Yakym will continue serving Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District. “Rudy’s unwavering dedication to common-sense Hoosier values and his record of service make him the ideal representative. We look forward to his continued work on behalf of our communities and to the positive impact his leadership will bring in the years ahead,” said Head.

Marlin Stutzman is returning to office after a convincing victory in his representation of the 3rd Congressional District. “With Marlin’s experience as a fourth-generation farmer and successful business owner, Hoosiers in the 3rd district will continue to have a steadfast and principled conservative voice in Washington. The 3rd congressional district can be assured of his commitment and dedication to fighting for Indiana families,” said Head

Regarding Braun’s and Beckwith’s win, Head stated, “Mike Braun’s experience as a mainstreet entrepreneur and Senator is exactly what the state needs to take us to places we have never been before. The Braun-Beckwith Freedom and Opportunity agenda is a clear representation of that experience and should allow all Hoosiers to get excited for the future of our state.

“Together, Mike Braun, Micah Beckwith, and our Republican statewide officeholders will create a dream team of conservative leadership. Under Braun’s leadership, Indiana is poised to have one of the most efficient and effective state governments in the country, ensuring growth, fiscal responsibility, and a commitment to the principles that make Indiana strong.

“We are ready for Braun-Beckwith to make Indiana a beacon of Freedom and Opportunity!”

In the Indiana Attorney General race, Head stated, “Attorney General Todd Rokita has spent the past four years demonstrating that Hoosiers are his top priority. As a dedicated public servant, he has ensured that our laws are enforced and our communities protected, all while serving as a steadfast ally to Republicans in the Statehouse.

“We are confident that, over the next four years, Todd Rokita will continue to be a strong teammate to our Republican leaders, fighting for our shared values and making a meaningful impact in our communities.”

Kosciusko County held true to its support of Republicans on the ballot. There were no local office races.
Voters in Kosciusko County not only turned out to vote early and absentee ballots but also at the polls.

When all the ballots were counted the county had a 65.01% turn out. Wait-times in lines ranged from 45 minutes to 2 hours.

While the turn out was down 1.34% from the 2020 presidential election, there were more early voters, than in 2020. However, in comparing the number of registered voters from 2020 to 2024 there was 205 less registered voters. If you take those numbers there was only a .59% difference in turnout. There was also 44.83% more voters showing up than the primary election.

Documents show Kosciusko County had 54,295 registered voters for the general election, up 1,396 new registered voters from the May primary, but down 205 voters from 2020 general election.

The total number of absentee ballots cast in this year’s general election was 1,822, with 13,295 early voters. In 2020 those numbers were 3,877 and 11,816 respectively. There were 11 straight party votes county wide for the Libertarian Party, 11,513 for the Republican Party and 1,450 for the Democratic party.

Both the Republican and Democrat parties were encouraging voters not to be complacent and to get out and vote.

“It was wonderful,” stated Mike Ragan, county Republican chairman. “We’re very pleased, very excited about the turn out.” He visited vote centers throughout the day. “People were standing in lines outside (everywhere) At the pavilion there were people standing outside in the rain when I was there. It’s just exciting to see we’ve got that kind of interest in government and our leadership.”

“Some of the poll workers were not anticipating the turn out. It was more than they anticipated” said Ann Torpy, county clerk. “They were probably overwhelmed. We weren’t. We had 13,000 here (early voting) and we knew it was going to be a busy day.”

Torpy checked the vote reports shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday evening and while some polls were still processing votes, the turnout percentage was at 61%.

Vote center results began arriving at the Justice building at 6:44 p.m. The last vote center to arrive, Syracuse Community Center, was around 8:35 p.m.

Scott Fox, inspector at North Webster Community Center vote center, stated the last vote was cast around 6:30 p.m. Janice Mort, Democratic judge at Syracuse Community Center vote center, stated their last voter was around 7 p.m. Wawasee Community Bible Church vote center had all votes cast by 6 p.m. (Note: If a voter was in line when the polls close, that voter was still allowed to cast their ballot).

Kinks are still being worked out on the new poll equipment. While there was no indication of voters receiving the wrong ballots, batteries draining in the poll pads were an issue. Torpy explained encoders are used to encode the cards to make sure the voter gets the right ballot. “That drains the battery on the poll pads pretty quickly. I’m not sure how to fix that. We will work with the company.”

While the pads are plugged in, she noted it still has to go through the encoder through the power cable and there is a space between the poll pad and power code. “When you process 1,800 voters, it’s going to drain it pretty quickly. That’s some of the issues that we had today.”

Another issue, which was handled by Microvotes, the company the machines were purchased from, was one of the 12 voting stations in Syracuse went down. “I’m not sure what happened with that one,” Torpy stated.
One problem noted at Syracuse Community Center and North Webster Community Center vote centers was parking. Voters motored around the parking lots trying to find parking spaces, even waiting in line to enter the parking lots.

This was Torpy’s last election as clerk. She will stay on as chief deputy clerk to newly elected clerk Melissa Boggs. While she will not have all the responsibilities she now has, she will still miss some of the responsibilities. “I like doing this stuff,” Torpy said.

“This election has really been draining,” she stated. She attributed it to the large numbers, but also to voters who moved in from other states. “Their laws are different than Indiana’s and so they argued that they should be allowed to vote. When we tried to explain — they didn’t want to vote provisional ballots — they said they didn’t think it was fair they couldn’t vote — register and vote the same day like they do in other states. That’s kind of draining, trying to educate voters.”